The San Gabriel Mission five-year Pastoral Plan was completed and presented to Cardinal Roger Mahony on September 8, 2001.  The Archangel Gabriel has been an inspiration and source of strength for the parish since it was founded some 231 years ago.  The Holy Messenger of God continues to give us hope and encouragement today, as we celebrate his feast Day and renew our commitment to our Mission Statement and Pastoral Plan as a Catholic Community under the Archangel's patronage.  This update recognizes that our Pastoral Plan is a living document which must always reflect the changing reality and needs of our parish.

At the heart of our Pastoral Plan is our acceptance that, like Junipero Serra and the first founders of San Gabriel Mission, we are responsible for the evangelizing mission of our Church.  The history of our parish and the challenges of our day encourage us to move into the Third Millennium with a renewed commitment to the Gospel.  Pope John Paul II has called us to embark upon a "new evangelization."  He challenges us to embrace our Catholic identity and mission with enthusiasm and courage.  As a Church preparing for the New Millennium, we are asked to be a community of disciples and companions of Jesus.  This Pastoral Plan Update is a sign of our commitment to respond to our call.

The Update, following months of evaluation and reflection, identifies the changes that have taken place in our community during the past five years.  As a parish we have taken a number of very important steps to respond with initiative and creativity to the evangelization through our commitment to the RENEW 2000 Process.  The renewal process responds to our Pastoral Plan's goal that San Gabriel become a "community of small communities," as we actively prepare ourselves for the New Millennium.  This new model of parish life will also include a greater emphasis on reaching out to inactive Catholics.  Our hope is that, as we gather to reflect on Scripture and share our faith, we will discover anew the abiding presence of the Good Shepherd who brings us together to live and serve as builders of God's Reign.

During the past two years, San Gabriel Mission has taken steps to respond to the new reality of our changing demographics.  The gifts and challenges of our cultural richness have been reflected in our quarterly parish assemblies, trilingual celebrations of the Eucharist, our annual Pentecost Ministries Celebration, and our growing appreciation of the unique traditions, devotions, and other expressions of our Catholic faith.

We have also been blessed during these past two years by the active involvement of a growing number of very talented parishioners willing to serve as pastoral, liturgical, and administrative leaders on the various committees, councils, boards, and teams of our parish.  A special effort has been made to reach out to our youth.  Their involvement and leadership can be readily seen throughout the parish.

The recently formed Claretian Lay Evangelizers demonstrate the commitment of our Pastoral Plan to lay leadership development and the missionary spirit of our parish.  As we continue our efforts to identify and call forth the many gifts and talents present within our community, we hope that the coming months will enable us to support and respond to Justice and Peace Committee, develop a Hospitality Ministry to welcome new parishioners, strengthen our Worship Committee, evaluate the needs of other parish ministries and groups, and celebrate new pastoral leadership at all levels of our parish.

This Pastoral Plan Update recognizes that much has been done during the past two years, yet acknowledges that more participation and involvement of our parishioners is required if we are to be faithful to the challenges of discipleship in the next millennium.  The Archangel Gabriel, Blessed Junipero Serra and our early Franciscan Founders, our generous and loving parishioners who have served on this sacred land before us, continue to inspire us to move forward as a community of faith.  Together, within our homes, workplaces, schools, small faith communities, and parish at large, we will be the messengers of hope called for today.  Because of our parishioners today, San Gabriel Mission will be stronger and greater in the next millennium than it has ever been before.

Our Pastoral Plan